Be Not Afraid of Men by Iva F. Cady

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jul 27, 1915

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 29.

Be Not Afraid of Men

By Iva F. Cady

To Fear Reproach and Reviling, Is Not Divine—The One Thing That Endures—We May Endure with It if We Will

By MRS. IVA F. CADY

“HEARKEN unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” Isa. 51:7.

The Lord is speaking here to a people who know righteousness, and who cherish His law in the heart. The fact that God’s law is in their hearts, is an indication that they are making that law the guide of their lives, and conforming to its rules. Apparently those who do this are reproached and reviled by their fellow men; but they are told not to fear the reproach of men, neither to be afraid of their revilings.

DESIRE FOR APPROBATION

Naturally we all desire to have the favor and good will of our fellow men, and would have peace with all. But ever since the fall of Adam, there have been two distinct classes in the earth,—the servants of the Lord, and the servants of Satan; and there has always been enmity between these two.

Those who are not subject to God, being prompted by their leader, the archdeceiver, have from the first hated those who would be true to the Creator, beginning with Cain, who hated and killed his brother simply “because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” 1 John 3:12.

Some are very fearful of what man will think and say. They cannot bear ridicule; and to avoid being thought peculiar, they feel that they must conform to the ways of the world, because to be keepers of the commandments of God brings reproach. Our only safety, however, is in making the Lord first in everything. We should fear Him, and keep His commandments, regardless of the reproach of men.

THE WEAKNESS OF MEN

Man is only a weak, mortal being. He is likened to a grasshopper in comparison with the Lord, who is almighty and all-wise, and who will abide forever. Isa. 40:22. Of men it is written, “The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool;” while the righteousness of God shall be forever. Isa. 51:8. Much as man may desire to do so, it is not in his power to prolong his life, but death comes to all alike in this world.

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished.” Verse 6.

The earth is now waxing old like a garment, and the time is coming when the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the people of earth shall be destroyed. The only things that are lasting are God and His holy word. And those who keep that living Word abiding in the heart will pass safely through the crisis, and come out victorious over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

THEN WHY FEAR MAN?

Knowing this to be so, why should we fear man? Instead, let us fear God, and keep His commandments, since we are told that this is the whole duty of man. Eccl. 12:13, 14. If we fear and serve the Lord, He has promised to be a Father to us, to shield and protect us, to give us wisdom, grace, and strength, and all things that pertain to life and godliness. What He did for His people in ancient times shows us what He is able and willing to do for us now, if we will but trust Him instead of looking to man.

“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?” Isa. 51:9, 10.

INFINITY COMFORTS US

For our comfort and encouragement, the Lord says: “I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy?” . . . But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people.” Verses 12-16.

It surely is unreasonable that we should fear poor, weak man, whose days are as the grass, and forget the Lord who made us, and who has power to stretch out the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth. It is God, our Maker, who is to be our Judge, and He it is whom we should fear and obey. Has He not promised to care for His followers, and to cover them in the shadow of His hand?

In the day of the Lord, when “the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low,” when “the Lord alone shall be exalted” (Isa. 2:17), what great joy it will bring if the Lord can say to us before the whole universe, “Thou art My people”!